Just a quick note! Sophie is now sixteen in this chapter. The story is supposed to be when she enters into her sixth year and on, but I wanted to do a short beginning of when she was a child. Hopefully this clears up any confusion! :) (Gorgeous banner by ginnykar at TDA!)

"Why don't you just give up your dream on going to Hogwarts? You know it's never going to happen!"

Sophie looked down at her scrapbook that she had made of Hogwarts. A small smile graced her face as her fingertips moved down one of the pictures of the magnificent castle.

"Never underestimate the great Sophie Autumn Palmer," she whispered as she slid the scrapbook into her backpack.

"Are you ready, sweetheart?" Eleanor asked as she stood in the doorway of Sophie's room.

"Yes, Mum," she answered as she grabbed her bag and walked to Eleanor. "Where's Dad?"

"Setting up the Portkey in the living room. Are you sure you have everything?"

"Eleanor! Sophie! Quickly! You're about to miss the Portkey!"

"Triple checked," Sophie said as she rushed to the living room, her bright brown eyes rolling when her mother couldn't see.

Oliver and Sophie both had their hands on the teapot as it glowed, Eleanor just entering the living room. As she saw that it glowed, her steps hurried, and her hand just took a hold of it before they began to fly to the teapot's destination.

Seconds later, they landed into their new flat that was already furnished with their old things. Oliver wrapped both of his arms around Eleanor and Sophie, squeezing them slightly.

"Welcome home," he said with a smile, the corners of his eyes crinkling.

Sophie wrapped her arms around her dad as she looked at her Mum. "Thank you, thank you, thank you both so much!"

"It was our pleasure, darling. As we like to fulfill our dreams, we wanted to make yours come true."

She grinned up at her dad before she asked, "When do we get to go to Diagon Alley?"

"Tomorrow," Eleanor answered.

"YAY! So, so excited! I've missed that place so much," Sophie said with a pleasant sigh.

"Will we be able to go to Hogsmeade?"

"I don't think so. We'll be spending a fair amount of money in Diagon Alley for your books and such. Besides, you'll be going there a number of times when they have the trips."

"Alright," she said as she tried to hide her disappointment with a small smile. "I'm going to go to my room and start packing my trunk for Hogwarts."

Before they could respond, she unwrapped her arms around her father's waist, and then went to her bedroom. She closed her door and looked around at the few trunks she had. Moving to her biggest one, she opened it, and looked inside. There were a few clothes in there, and plenty of space for a few more items.

She placed her bag she was carrying onto her bed, and then moved to the smaller trunk. Opening it, she looked at some of her old supplies - her few quills, a couple ink-bottles, her two foots of parchment, her scales, her pot and ladle, along with a few books she read for entertainment, including a book about Quidditch - in which her mother knew nothing about - and her materials which developed her photos in the film of her camera.

One by one, she transported them to her larger trunk. Once she placed them in her trunk, she moved to the other small trunk, and opened it. Inside were some more clothes and robes, those of which were a little too short. She moved her robes to her large trunk, and then looked inside the small trunk again. Taking out a few of her clothes, she sighed. A selfish thought came to her mind, Sometimes I wish I could have clothes that mother didn't make.

She then shook her head, trying to shake the selfish thoughts out. After placing a few of the handmade clothes into her trunk, she stood up, and climbed into her small twin-sized bed. Grabbing her bag that she seemed to carry everywhere, she loosened the ties that tightened the elastic band, and grabbed out all the contents.

Looking at them, she smiled. She looked at her scrapbook of Hogwarts, her sketchbook, her camera, and her photo album filled with moving pictures of various things.

A small smile came over her face as she read the golden manuscript that said, "Sophie Palmer." She looked at the golden designs in the corners of the left side. Finally, she opened the photo album, and began to look at the photos she had placed in.

The first one was a black and white one of her Mum and Dad walking, their hands laced together. The one underneath was the two of them sitting on a bench, her Mum resting her head on her husbands shoulder, as his arm was wrapped around her. She then turned the page and saw her father planting his favorite flower, Jasmine, in his garden. From the Jasmine, he also made Eleanor's perfume with it.

The one underneath it was of Eleanor slicing a few tomatoes in the kitchen. She was looking over her shoulder, her dark grey hair swishing away from her face as she smiled at Sophie.

Looking to the next page, there was a large, wide picture with the rest of her family on Christmas day. Her older brothers, William and Phillip, were standing behind the couch with their wives, Barbara and Susan, and their children, Timothy, Edward, Paul, Lori, and Dawn. Then their children, Matthew, Justin, Benjamin, Austin, Victoria, Zachary, Katherine, and Anne, were sitting on the arms of the couch, and scattered on the floor. and sitting on the couch was her, Eleanor, and Oliver.

Yet again, she looked at the next page and found her pictures she had taken in Beauxbatons Academy of Magic. There was the picture of the large castle, in which they called "the palace." It looked beautiful in the picture with the bright sun shining down on it. The large, white stoned building was covered in the sun's light, the white stone tinted with a yellow hue. The small waterfall in front of it ran down a few steps, and into the clearest, most blue pond.

She then turned the page as the picture of the palace and fountain took up the whole page. There on the next pages, she saw several pictures of her very best friend, Colette. Her hair was a raven color that fell into natural, wavy ringlets. Her light green eyes sparkled at the camera, her slightly crooked, white teeth shining. At that moment, she had been on a tree limb, hanging upside down.

A small, sad smile crossed her face as she let out a slight sigh. Leaving her best friend behind was probably the hardest thing she experienced thus far. Of course, they promised to write each other, but it wouldn't be the same.

Suddenly, a set of nerves started in her stomach as she thought about starting in a new school, and meeting new people. What if they don't like me? They may all hate me. What if that happens? I'll be a loner, with no friends to talk to, have adventures with, or have wonderful times.

She shook her head, and then closed the photo album. Standing from her bed, she walked out of the room, and walked into the living room. As she walked closer to the kitchen, she heard her parents whispering. Knowing it was wrong, but not able to help herself, she hid behind the wall and began to eavesdrop.

"Oliver, are you sure we can afford this place? We hardly could make the payments on the old house…," Eleanor whispered, her nerves apparent in her voice.

"It's going to be all right," he responded hesitantly.

"Even with all of Sophie's supplies for Hogwarts?"

"Listen to me, love. Things will be hard for a while, and we may have to move in with one of the kids again, but I promise you it will get better. Once I go down, discover that rare flower, and see what it truly is, we'll never have to worry again."

"I don't know, Oliver…," Eleanor trailed off, her worries still overcoming her as she remembered his last expedition.

He wrapped his arms around Eleanor, and kissed her cheek trying to reassure her. Tilting her head up, he looked into her green eyes. "Trust me, love," he said before he kissed her gently.

Before Sophie could hear anything else from them, she hurried back to her room quietly. Shoving her camera, scrapbook, and photo album back into her bag, she grabbed it, walked out of her room, and shut the door behind her quietly. She then walked over to the front door surreptitiously, not wanting her parents to catch her.

As she walked out and closed the door gently, she took a deep breath of the warm air that surrounded her. She suddenly relaxed once she felt the warm rays of the sun hit her skin. She then skipped down the few steps that led to their apartment and began to walk down the street. Making her way down the dark pavement of the street, she took out her camera and began to snap a few pictures of a group of children who were jumping rope on the sidewalk.

Walking further down under the shades of the trees, she heard a loud noise. Turning towards it, she saw a woman in a red looking box with wheels that she'd never seen before. She heard the rumbling it caused, her eyebrows knitting together as her lips formed into a slight frown. Then, suddenly, the red box began to move down the street. A smile formed on her lips in awe, as she snapped a quick picture of it.

"What are you doing you little scoundrel?!" the woman shouted as she saw the flash, her head sticking out the window.

Sophie looked around to see who the woman was talking to, and by the time she looked back, the woman and the red box was gone. The children that had been playing looked over, scrutinizing the situation that was going on. She then shook her head, shrugged, and then continued to walk further down the street.

Making it to the next street, she walked down to see a bunch of trees and a wooden bridge. She hurried to the bridge as she heard water running, a new excitement filling her. When she stepped onto the bridge, she set her bag down, and looked over the railing. As she looked over, she saw a stream running down, running against a various number of rocks. She snapped a picture and then sat down, her legs dangling off the edge of the bridge, setting her camera next to her.

Sitting there, looking at the bubbling stream, she leant against the middle railing, her chin resting against her hand. Since when are things so bad…? Why wouldn't they tell me? Am I really so selfish that they spend all their money on me? Could there be a cost for me going to Hogwarts…?

If they had told me, I wouldn't have been so selfish… I could of gotten a job somewhere. Surely there would be someone somewhere who would hire an underaged witch. Has it always been like this…?

Suddenly, her thoughts were interrupted by a boy who sat next to her. He looked at her and smiled slightly. She looked at him curiously, her right eyebrow rising at him in question.

"I'm Jake," he said before he looked out to the stream.

"Sophie," she responded airily. She continued to look at him, her eyebrows knitting together.

As he continued to look at the stream, he stated, "You're new here."

"Yes."

"Where are you from?" he questioned as he looked at her.

She turned to him, and noticed his ocean blue eyes. His skin was a natural tan, and his hair a light brown. Although he had a slight baby face, she could tell that he was a few years older than her.

After scrutinizing his face for a little, she answered, "France."

"You don't have that much of a French accent."

"You're a curious bloke, aren't you?" she questioned as she looked back to the stream.

"Can't help myself," he responded.

"How old are you?" she questioned, her curiosity now getting the best of her.

"Twenty," he answered immediately.

"I see," she responded.

The two then became silent, listening to the wind rustle the leaves in the trees, and the bubbling stream. The sun beat down, poking through the trees' leaves. A few minutes passed by and he slid her camera toward him. She looked at him quickly, her eyes narrowing slightly.

"What do you think you're doing?" she asked haughtily.

"I haven't seen a camera like this in a long time. It's pretty interesting. Do you use a dark room and everything?"

"Yes," she responded. "How else would you develop pictures?"

He looked at her, his brows furrowing. Before she noticed, he put on a small smile, his ocean blue eyes looking at her. "Well, normally people get them done at a shop or on a computer."

"Huh," she said as she looked up at him with a puzzled look on her face.

"You're not like most people, are you?" he questioned as his eyes searched hers.

"I suppose not from your world."

"My world?" he chuckled. When she didn't respond, he took the camera in his hands.

Her eyes narrowed more, giving him a warning look, but he continued to look at her, not heeding the warning. "Would you mind if I took a picture?"

"Why would you want to do that?" she asked as her thoughts began to wander if he was crazy.

"It'd be nice to take a picture with this. Who knows, I may be good at it," he said. Without waiting for an answer, he continued, "And besides, I'm sure you don't have many pictures of yourself."

After a long pause, she bit down on her lip, and warned, "If you break it, there will be deadly consequences."

"I promise not to break it. How about you show me how this works?"

Sophie turned her body, sat on her knees, and looked up at him. Her hand reached up to a small circle and said, "You twist this, due to wherever you are. Seeing as we're outside in the shade, you want to turn it to this notch here."

As her eyes looked up to see if he understood, she noticed that his eyes hadn't moved away from her. Feeling the heat rise in her face, she bit on her lip again, and then looked down. Her hand rested on the lens, and she began to twist it slightly.

"This, you twist to focus on whatever you're taking a picture of," she explained. Without looking up at him, she moved to the button on the left. "This is the button you push to take the picture. Do you understand?"

Her eyes finally met his again, and she looked at his small smile. Not being able to help herself, she smiled slightly at him. He finally nodded slightly and then stood up. Backing up a few paces, he pointed the camera slightly down, and began to twist the part which made the vision through the lens non-blurry.

As he played with it a little longer than normal, Sophie chuckled and shook her head, her white blonde hair moving over her shoulder. Before she could look up, Jake pushed the button, and the bulb flashed brightly at her. She then looked up dazed, and saw the grin on his face.

"Perfect, I think," he said. He then handed the camera back to her. "When you develop that, mind if I see it?"

Her cheeks tinged pink once again, and she bit her lip as her brown eyes sparkled up at him through her eyelashes. "I don't know if that's possible."

His smile faltered slightly, but still held it in place as he said softly, "Why's that, Sophie?"

"I'm going away for school," she answered.

"Oh, I see…," he trailed as his smile faltered. "Would you be able to talk on the phone at all?"

"Phone?" she asked curiously as she stood up. He nodded and she shook her head. "I don't have any sort of phone. We could, maybe, write to each other."

"Snail mail," he mumbled softly. Another small smile came to her face and he said, "Sure. Could I get your address?"

"I'll write to you first," she responded as she bit her lip again, a set of nerves settling in her. "Put your address in here."

She then took out her sketchbook and handed it to him. He took a pen out of his pocket and wrote down his address. Closing the sketchbook quickly, she put it back in her bag, along with her camera.

"You certainly are a different girl, Sophie."

"I'll take that as a compliment," she responded with a more chipper tone and a smile.

"Good," he said returning the smile. "So, will I see you again? Before you leave for school, that is."

"I don't know," she said with a sly smirk.

"When do you leave?" he asked.

"The first of September."

"Hmm…," he trailed.

Without responding, and before he could say anything more, Sophie snapped a picture of him. A broad grin spread across her face, reaching the corner of her eyes. She then put her camera in her bag, and closed it. Putting it over her shoulder, she turned around, her back to him, and began to walk back toward her apartment.

"Where are you going?" he questioned.

She looked over her shoulder, moving her hair back over her shoulder. Smirking, she said, "I have to get going."

Walking further, almost making it to the corner of the street her apartment was at, she raised her voice, "Meet you here Monday at two!"

Without looking back, she walked back to her apartment. A small smile was on her face as Jake entered her thoughts. Before they could become too clouded with him, she walked into the apartment, and closed the door behind her.

"And where were you, young lady?" her mom asked sternly.

Sophie shrugged and said, "Went for a walk. Wanted to take a couple pictures before I left for Hogwarts."

"It would've been nice if you told your father or I."

"Sorry," she said in a slightly sharp tone.

"Go to your room for now. You can peel the potatoes for dinner tonight."

She let out a groan and then trudged to her room. Closing the door behind her, she moved to her bed and began to think of everything that had gone on throughout the day. First it was her parents talking about their financially stability, or lack thereof, and then Jake.